The High Court's third panel is scheduled to hear the case on Tuesday (21/9), analyzing for the first time whether the apartment council's ban on renting out houses for less than 90 years is legal. days – formats implemented through digital platforms (such as Airbnb in this case).
reproduction
Home stays through Airbnb face objections from apartments and banned by residents
Bring to justice
To date, the court has only dealt with the issue once. In April, the 4th panel Chinese Overseas America Number Data decided by majority vote that similar seasonal rentals are not considered residential and therefore can be prohibited by condominium covenants.
The analysis of the third panel on this topic will outline how the jurisprudence of this topic, which is absolutely new due to new forms of the sharing economy, will be shaped.
The appeal, from Londrina (PR), concerned a condominium that, following a meeting, included a clause in its covenants prohibiting the seasonal letting of its respective units for less than 90 days. The lawsuit was filed by an apartment owner seeking to invalidate the decision.
For apartments, renting out units through digital platforms is “clearly paid accommodation and has the character of a hotel,” which distorts the residential use of the property and renders illegal the apartment owner’s intention to make money.
The court of first instance ruled in favor of the individual, but the Parana court overturned the decision. It is understood that the right to freely dispose of condominium property does not override the wishes of all condominium owners, who agree to prohibit the rental of private units for seasons shorter than a certain period.
As was the case with Panel 4, it was not Airbnb who was on trial. Even so, the rapporteur, Minister Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, approved the inclusion of the company as a simple assistant to the plaintiff. He understands the legitimate interests of the platform because the apartment owners also use Airbnb, which creates a legal relationship between them.
Rafael Luz
Rapporteur, Minister Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva in the feature
Rafael Luz qualifies Airbnb as a simple assistant
The two cases are similar in that, in addition to the perceived distortion of units rented through digital platforms, the discussion also touches on topics such as peace of mind and security for other apartment owners, as seasonal rentals herald some mobility for users. apartment.
For TJ-PR, when purchasing a condominium property, owners expect serenity, “the peace and protection of a permanent home rather than the peace and protection of a hotel or resort”. If they had known that another condo owner might commercially develop their property, perhaps they wouldn't have done so.